Waterbury Nursing Home Ordered To Hire Nurse Consultant, Fined $5,000

CARA ROSNER, Connecticut Health I-Team

A Waterbury nursing home has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and hire a nursing consultant after state health inspections uncovered numerous violations at the facility, including resident neglect and unsanitary conditions.

Terms of the agreement, reached between Rosegarden Health & Rehabilitation Center and the state Department of Public Health, are revealed in a July 9 consent order recently released by DPH.

Thirty violations were uncovered at the center during a series of unannounced DPH inspections of the facility that occurred between Nov. 25 and Dec. 10, 2013.

Among the numerous violations outlined in the order, DPH inspectors found evidence of resident neglect. In one instance cited, a resident was found unshowered and unkempt with facial hair; long, dirty fingernails and toenails; uncombed hair and severe cradle cap, the inspection report said.

Among other issues, DPH found that center staff failed to include a resident's directive in physicians' orders, failed to follow a physician's orders, failed to notify a physician when a resident's condition changed significantly, lacked comprehensive care plans for residents who fell, did not maintain good grooming and hygiene for two residents, and had multiple lapses in record keeping.

The department also determined the facility failed to maintain a clean and comfortable environment. Inspectors visiting Rosegarden observed dirty air conditioning vents, dirty and stained lifts that were used to transport residents, a bathroom vent that was covered with dust, and ceiling vents in hallways and rooms throughout the center that were "covered with dust," the report said.

DPH determined that the site's medical director "failed to assure that quality medical care was provided by the facility," according to the order.

Center administrators did not return a call seeking comment.

State records show the center was notified on Dec. 31, 2013 of the violations. A 34-page document outlines each issue and the state statute or regulation it violated.

The July consent order called for Rosegarden to pay the $5,000 fine and hire an independent nurse consultant within two weeks of the order being executed. It is unclear whether the center met those deadlines, which would have been last month. A DPH spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.

The independent nurse consultant hired by Rosegarden must be credentialed in wound care and pre-approved by DPH, per the order. The consultant must provide services to the center for 16 hours per week, over the course of four months, and must be present at the facility at various times, during all three shifts as well as holidays and weekends.

The process will be closely monitored by state officials. The consultant is required to submit weekly written reports to DPH, make recommendations to Rosegarden's administrator and directors, and participate in regular teleconferences with Rosegarden and DPH officials.

A main goal of the consultant will be to assess Rosegarden's regulatory compliance. Any reports generated by the consultant will be shared with DPH as well as the center's administrator, medical director and director of nurses, the consent order mandates.

The order was agreed to by Miriam Stern, Rosegarden's managing partner, and Barbara Cass, section chief of DPH's Facility Licensing and Investigations Section. Stern's signature indicates the center's agreement with the terms set forth in the order.

Rosegarden Health & Rehabilitation Center, located at 3584 East Main St. in Waterbury, has been licensed to operate as a chronic and convalescent nursing home since 2008, state records show.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).